An Essay and the Future
by Ran-dezvous
Summary: An essay for school made Conan ask what Ai wanted to do in the future.


**Title:** An Essay and the Future  
**Author:** Ran-dezvous  
**Genre:** Friendship  
**Fandom:** Detective Conan  
**Characters:** Edogawa Conan and Haibara Ai  
**Word Count:** 729  
**Rating:** G  
**Original Publish Date:** March 19, 2007  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own Detective Conan/Meitantei Conan. I just use the characters as lab rats in my psychological experiments.  
**Summary:** An essay for school made Conan ask what Ai wanted to do in the future.

* * *

It was a beautiful late Saturday afternoon all over the district of Beika. Children playing with one another were found about in the streets. However, Edogawa Conan and Haibara Ai, two teenagers stuck in their childhood bodies, were not one of them. They were over at Agasa-hakase's house to write the same essay they've done ten years ago—at least for Conan that is.

The bespectacled boy had already finished his homework about his life twenty years from now; he wrote the same thing he wrote ten years ago, hoping that by that time he could return to his normal life with Ran. He looked over at the paper of the sandy brown haired girl in front of her and found it to be still blank.

He then raised his gaze toward his little chemist friend. She seemed to be in a daze, deeply reflecting about something—as evidenced by the solemn look in her eyes and the wide frown placed upon her features. She definitely did _not_ look like the usual cold Haibara; in fact, she appeared to be more morose than cold.

"Haibara-san, you haven't written down anything yet." Conan casually remarked.

"That's because I'm still thinking." Ai answered back in her usual monotone voice.

"Well, it doesn't look like you're happy with what you're thinking," pointed out Conan. "Tell me...Is there something wrong, Haibara-san?"

"No." Ai paused and bit her lip before she muttered out, "I'm fine, Kudou-kun."

The little detective could sense that she was lying. "Then tell me, what are you going to write in your essay?" The girl in front of him remained silent. "Haibara-san, answer me..." he trailed off, making sure to have eye contact with her.

A few more minutes of silence continued to ensue until Ai could not take it anymore. His imploring eyes of ocean blue proved to be too much for her. Nevertheless, she managed to maintain her composure, not revealing the slight annoyance that he had brought upon her. Chin resting on her palm, she turned her gaze toward the window and heaved a contemplative sigh. "I honestly don't know, Kudou-kun. I've been so busy working on the antidote that I've never really stopped to think about the future. Sometimes...I'm not even sure whether to take the antidote at all," she broke off, retuning her gaze to the little boy in front of her who looked, which wasn't a surprise to her, confused.

"Sometimes?" Conan inquired. "What do you mean, Haibara-san?"

"All my life, I've worked for the Black Organization. The only one I had was my sister Akemi. But then they killed her—after all the dirty work we did for them. At that point, I was determined to die. I had no more reason to live so I took the apotoxin. I would have rather died by my own creation than be killed by them.

"But I didn't die. As you know, I turned a decade younger just like you. I gave myself the name of Haibara Ai and lived a normal childhood life, with the exemption of the fact that I had to create an antidote to get you out of this predicament. It was my sole reason for living."

"Haibara!" Conan worriedly interjected, forgetting to use his usual honorific for her. "You're not going to kill yourself after this, are you?" With all his conviction, he stood up from his seat and loudly smashed his hands on the table, moving some of the items that lay on it. "Don't do it!"

"I'm not going to," replied Ai in her usual tone of voice. "It's just that...I don't know whether to take the antidote and continue with my life as Miyano Shiho...or start a new life as Haibara Ai..."

"Oh, I see. Thank goodness," Conan said, showing his understanding. "No matter which one you choose, remember that I'll still be here to protect you."

Ai made no response and proceeded to writing her essay. When the little detective tried to peek at what she was writing, she immediately covered her paper with her hands.

"Haibara-san! I want to see what you've written!"

"You'll just have to wait for twenty years."

"Twenty years from now, huh?" Conan sighed as he stared at her writing down her homework. Little did he know how that simple gesture of his influenced Haibara Ai's decision regarding her life.

* * *

_My first and probably only ConanxAi fanfic. I really like the ShinichixRan pairing, but I have a soft spot for Ai...I highly apologize if she's not in character...I've only started reading the manga (not yet even done with File 2...hehe). My only real basis for her characterization was from the fanfics I've read about her. Nevertheless, I do hope you've enjoyed it. Reviews of all kinds are welcome._

_Many thanks to my little sister__, **Moon-kun**, for beta-reading this._


End file.
